Fallen London: Shower Thoughts

A thread for the tiny epiphanies one has or has previously had about Fallen London and the Sunless universe.

To cite the description of r/Showerthoughts, shower thoughts arer/Showerthoughts wrote:

those miniature epiphanies you have that highlight the oddities within the familiar. &quotShowerthought&quot is a loose term that applies to the types of thoughts you might have while carrying out a routine task like showering, driving, or daydreaming. At their best, Showerthoughts are universally relatable and find the amusing/interesting within the mundane. Please be respectful of others' submissions. Rudeness is unacceptable.

For example,

Of course the Notability grind is one of the most soul-crushing and frustrating endeavors in all of Fallen London - it's sponsored by none other than Hell itself.

I'm on Polythreme now. The game mechanics are a bit frustrating and limiting. However, that fits thematicallywith the place. Polythreme is supposed to feel barren and rather dull compared to all the other Zee locations. After all, there are only Clay Men and clothes-colonies that don't really have their own agency and purpose apart from the King of a Hundred Hearts.

The game experience supports this atmosphere to a tee. One may be vexed by the game mechanics of Polythreme, but one is meant to be vexed. If not much happens there lore-wise, it makes sense that not much can happen there game-wise too. So, I'm vexed, but I also can't help but respect in-game Polythreme for what it is.

--The Jaunty Mystic roams the streets of London, interviewing fellow citizens. Accepting all Acquaintances, social interactions and opportunities for casual in-game roleplay. Member of the Temple Club, happy to invite you for a visit anytime!

The game experience supports this atmosphere to a tee. One may be vexed by the game mechanics of Polythreme, but one is meant to be vexed. If not much happens there lore-wise, it makes sense that not much can happen there game-wise too. So, I'm vexed, but I also can't help but respect in-game Polythreme for what it is.

This is on point. During normal gameplay, I'll happily inflict great pain and loss upon my character, if it fits by current metagame goals; often even without pausing to consider the consequences, in cases where it becomes routine (for example, during the early stage of Seeking while playing through the UP cards every week: yes, yes, I just clicked on an action that apparently made me eat my own teeth, done that before and will do it again, now let's scarf down some formless lumps and then time for archeology!).

Polythreme is the one exception to this: I, the player, experience all the frustration a normal character trying to achieve anything while there would feel, and share my own character's intense dislike (perhaps, even, burning hatret) of being there. It is the one place I avoid like the plague, not because of some mechanical out-of-universe reason, but solely because of what the place is, and without any effort whatsoever on my part to roleplay.

I'd never thought of it that way before; you just vastly raised my respect of the place. (Still not going there, though.)edited by Dudebro Pyro on 2/16/2019

So many souls have burnt their names with Salt in Frostfound. The traveller is always returning. The time is no time. The time is fire. The time is a wheel. The way we pronounce Salt is a result of time, and for a wheel the true name of Salt must be, "alts". Yes.

Where do all the weasels and bats given to the Boatman go? Do the people in the Royal Bethlehem know why they're there? Will the Merry Gentleman ever leave me alone so I stop feeling bad for being impolite and not greeting him? Do things in Parabola dream of the real world? If a bat falls down a well and no one's around to hear it, does it really die?

What did the First, Second and Third Cities call the Masters? &quotMr&quot is an english convention, and the Fourth City called them &quotKhans&quot. Maybe in the Second City they were called Pharaohs (Pharaoh of Wines, Pharaoh of Spices etc). That would mean (SMEN spoiler) [spoiler]Mr Eaten might not have even been called Mr Candles, since the english language didn't even exist during the time of the first two cities.[/spoiler]